WhatIfSports national championship power rankings: how does Alabama stack up?
Alabama's perch atop the college football world is firmly cemented. The Crimson Tide won their fourth national title in seven years and were the only school to participate in the College Football Playoff in both 2014 and 2015. Nick Saban's model of success has been a suffocating defense that finished with a ranking no worse than seventh in points allowed every year since 2008, Saban's second season in Tuscaloosa. It's telling that Alabama has ranked first or second in each of its championship seasons:
| Alabama's Defense Under Nick Saban | ||
|---|---|---|
| Year | Points Allowed Per Game | National Rank |
| *2015 | 15.1 | 2 |
| 2014 | 18.4 | 6 |
| 2013 | 13.9 | 4 |
| *2012 | 10.9 | 1 |
| *2011 | 8.2 | 1 |
| 2010 | 13.5 | 3 |
| *2009 | 11.7 | 2 |
| 2008 | 14.3 | 7 |
| 2007 | 21.8 | 29 |
| *National championship seasons |
Aside from a 43-37 September loss to Ole Miss, 'Bama cruised through its 2015 schedule. Its 45-40 victory over Clemson was one of only two wins decided by few than 13 points. While the 2015 season no doubt belonged to Alabama, the question remains how the latest rendition of the Crimson Tide would compare to past champions. Using the WhatIfSports.com college football simulation engine, we played a round robin tournament featuring the 2015 Crimson Tide, the 2014 Ohio State Buckeyes and every champion of the BCS era. Check out the tournament's results:
| 2015 Alabama vs. Every National Champion of the BCS/Playoff Era | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | Team | Win % | Avg. PF | Avg. PA | Simulate vs. Alabama |
| 1 | 2012 Alabama Crimson Tide | 84.8 | 26.4 | 12.1 | SimMatchup > |
| 2 | 2011 Alabama Crimson Tide | 71.1 | 29.5 | 20 | SimMatchup > |
| 3 | 2004 USC Trojans | 70.1 | 29.7 | 20.5 | SimMatchup > |
| 4 | 2001 Miami (FL) Hurricanes | 68.7 | 29.4 | 20.8 | SimMatchup > |
| 5 | 2009 Alabama Crimson Tide | 66 | 27.1 | 20.2 | SimMatchup > |
| 6 | 2005 Texas Longhorns | 58.3 | 25.1 | 21.7 | SimMatchup > |
| 7 | 2008 Florida Gators | 57 | 25.7 | 22.1 | SimMatchup > |
| 8 | 2013 Florida State Seminoles | 56.7 | 26.7 | 24.6 | SimMatchup > |
| 9 | 2015 Alabama Crimson Tide | 52.4 | 22.9 | 21.5 | National Champions! |
| 10 | 1999 Florida State Seminoles | 49.7 | 23.6 | 23.8 | SimMatchup > |
| 11 | 2000 Oklahoma Sooners | 42.8 | 19.4 | 23.9 | SimMatchup > |
| 12 | 2003 LSU Tigers | 40.4 | 21.3 | 24.4 | SimMatchup > |
| 13 | 2006 Florida Gators | 34.5 | 17.5 | 23.5 | SimMatchup > |
| 14 | 2002 Ohio State Buckeyes | 33.4 | 17.4 | 24.2 | SimMatchup > |
| 15 | 1998 Tennessee Volunteers | 33.4 | 17.6 | 25.2 | SimMatchup > |
| 16 | 2014 Ohio State Buckeyes | 31 | 20.2 | 29.1 | SimMatchup > |
| 17 | 2007 LSU Tigers | 29.7 | 18.4 | 28.4 | SimMatchup > |
| 18 | 2010 Auburn Tigers | 20.1 | 17.1 | 29.1 | SimMatchup > |
The 2015 Tide placed ninth out of 18 teams, winning 52.4 percent of their games. Among the eight teams that finished with a better winning percentage were three Alabama squads. The 2012 Crimson Tide won an overwhelming 84.8 percent of games and held opponents to a simulation-best 12.1 points per contest. Alabama's 2011 team finished a distant second with a 71.1 winning percentage.
Other schools with multiple entries in the tournament included Florida, Florida State, LSU and Ohio State, with two championship teams each.
No team won fewer games than Cam Newton's 2010 Auburn Tigers, which came out on top in 20.1 percent of matchups and surrendered a simulation-worst 29.1 points per game.
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